'Avatar' At The Oscars: What Went Wrong? Experts Weigh In - MTV mtv Brian Warmoth 03/08/2010 James Cameron's "Avatar" became the [article id="1630535"]highest-grossing movie of all time[/article] in theaters, but Kathryn Bigelow's "The Hurt Locker" became the lowest-grossing film ever to win Best Picture at the Academy Awards on Sunday. Even with Best Visual Effects and Best Cinematography wins to boast about, many thought that "Avatar" would follow behind "Titanic" and bring a windfall of Oscar wins. Critics point to several inherent weaknesses, however, including actor fears within the Academy, traditional notions of film and political trends. "For whatever reason, boomer-age people, older Gen X-ers [in the Academy] are threatened by it," journalist and Hollywood Elsewhere writer Jeff Wells told MTV News. "They feel on some level that they're going to be lost, that they're going to be digitally wiped out in the future." Wells cited voting actors who are consistently in search of new jobs as the ones who feel they have the most to lose.

"People like JoBeth Williams and others in that branch — we're talking about people who aren't working as much anymore, but they're getting some work and they're marginal — that's most of the Academy's actors branch," he explained. "We're not talking about 3 percent or 4 percent that are working a lot and getting big money for it and doing very well." Dave Karger of Entertainment Weekly's OscarWatch blog disagreed. "I never really felt in my gut that it was going to happen," he said. " 'Avatar' always seemed to me like a movie that would win four or five technical Oscars, and it ended up winning three, so I actually thought it was going to do a little better than it did. I can't see a movie like that winning Best Picture at this stage. It might take a while for a movie like that to be fully accepted." Whether fear over jobs or the loss of on-camera face-time influenced the vote, the road for motion-capture acting to Oscars' biggest honors may be further off than Cameron or "Avatar" supporters anticipated, unless certain challenges can be overcome.

"Cameron has made the point over and over again, you've got to really, really work it and be a really exceptional actor to come through in these things," Wells explained, speaking of the film's mo-cap technology. "This is all about your own emotionality. It's all about your facial muscles." It may require a new generation of actors who are trained in such methods before a breakthrough performance manages to calm anxieties and impress the voters that passed this year on "Avatar." Still, Big Hollywood Editor in Chief John Nolte believes the Na'vi's loss to "The Hurt Locker" may have been a product of trends greater than workers facing a recession. "No, I think that [Cameron has] taken some pretty hard shots over the past few weeks," Nolte responded when asked if he thought actors balked at mo-cap. " 'Avatar' had been criticized for being anti-military. It's a very political film, and this appeared to be a season where the Academy decided that they were going to keep politics off the front burner." If "The Hurt Locker" managed to earn sympathies where "Avatar" lost them, such sentiment could have impacted the results as well.

"It was really remarkable to not take a hit as a conservative Christian during the Academy Awards," Nolte proposed, referencing an absence of war or political activism from the winners and hosts compared to past years. That sea change alone may prove noteworthy, but whichever forces ultimately prove to be responsible, James Cameron's new vision for 3-D filmmaking will have to regroup for the 2011 Academy Awards. Until then, new films like "Alice in Wonderland" and potentially Marc Webb's "Spider-Man" relaunch will be testing out what the new technology has to offer. "The whole game has changed," Wells said, "big-time." Relive all the best moments from the 2010 Academy Awards with photos, interviews, blogs, post-show analysis and more, right here at MTV News. Check out everything we've got on "Avatar." For breaking news, celebrity columns, humor and more — updated around the clock — visit MTVMoviesBlog.com .

Oscars 2010: Academy Award winners Oscars 2010: Academy Award winners TOOLBOX Monday, March 8, 2010; 12:30 PM © 2010 The Washington Post Company 2010 Academy Awards Winners - The Hurt Locker Wins Six | FirstShowing.net 2010 Academy Awards Winners - The Hurt Locker Wins Six by Alex Billington March 7, 2010 The 82nd Academy Awards have finally arrived and it's now time to announce the winners of the most prestigious award in Hollywood. The ceremony is being shown live from the Kodak Theatre where hosts Alec Baldwin and Steve Martin will be reminding us that laughter always makes the Oscar ceremony so much more entertaining. This should be a very exciting and quite interesting year at the Academy Awards, considering this is the first year (since 1943) that we've had 10 nominees for Best Picture. The complete list of nominees below will be updated with winners marked as they're announced live on the show tonight.

PICTURE: Kathryn Bigelow - The Hurt Locker ACTOR: ACTRESS: Sandra Bullock - The Blind Side Read on for the complete list of nominees and winners and to let us know what you think of the results! This will be updated throughout the night to reflect the winners. Additionally, I occasionally might add a small bit of editorial commentary beneath each category. Winners are highlighted in BOLD below. PICTURE: Pixar's Up Up in the Air Thoughts: After seeing all of the awards it won earlier in the show, I expected this to win. It was certainly the big year for The Hurt Locker and after a very long journey, it finally takes home the Oscar. I'm satisfied. It is a great movie and I'm glad to see it win the big one. Congratulationss to all of this year's nominees! DIRECTOR: Kathryn Bigelow - The Hurt Locker Quentin Tarantino - Inglourious Basterds Lee Daniels - Precious Jason Reitman - Up in the Air Thoughts: Fine by me. I'm very happy to see Bigelow become the first female director to win. Everyone nominated this year deserved it, but I think Bigelow a bit more than the others (except for maybe James Cameron?).

ACTOR: George Clooney - Up in the Air Colin Firth - A Single Man Morgan Freeman - Invictus Jeremy Renner - The Hurt Locker Thoughts: Perfect. I don't think I need to say anything else. The Dude finally won an Oscar, hell yes! ACTRESS: Sandra Bullock - The Blind Side Helen Mirren - The Last Station Carey Mulligan - An Education Gabourey Sidibe - Precious Meryl Streep - Julie & Julia Thoughts: You've got to be kidding me. What the hell? She should NOT have won. This is ridiculous. Bullock just robbed the Oscar straight out from under both Carey Mulligan and Gabourey Sidibe. What a bad choice! SUPPORTING ACTOR: Christopher Plummer - The Last Station Stanley Tucci - The Lovely Bones Christoph Waltz - Inglourious Basterds Thoughts: I expected him to win, but he certainly deserves it, too. His road to the Oscars started in Cannes last May and finally ends here with the win that we all predicted he should get from the start. Congrats!

SUPPORTING ACTRESS: Vera Farmiga - Up in the Air Maggie Gyllenhaal - Crazy Heart Anna Kendrick - Up in the Air Mo'Nique - Precious Thoughts: I would've liked to see someone else, but this was expected. She is really damn good in Precious. ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY: Mark Boal - The Hurt Locker Quentin Tarantino - Inglourious Basterds Alessandro Camon & Oren Moverman - The Messenger Joel Coen & Ethan Coen - A Serious Man Bob Peterson & Pete Docter - Pixar's Up Thoughts: I would've preferred if Inglourious Basterds or A Serious Man took this, but I think this is The Hurt Locker's year the Oscars, so why not let it win as many as it can. ADAPTED SCREENPLAY: Neill Blomkamp & Terri Tatchell - District 9 Nick Hornby - An Education Armando Iannucci & Simon Blackwell - In the Loop Geoffrey Fletcher - Precious Jason Reitman & Sheldon Turner - Up in the Air Thoughts: Come on, why Precious over District 9 and Up in the Air and In the Loop and everything? Not who I wanted to see win.

I loved Precious, but it's not this year's best screenplay. ANIMATED FEATURE: The Princess and the Frog The Secret of Kells Pixar's Up Thoughts: Another expected win, but a big congrats to Pixar for winning another Oscar (now their 7th)! FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM: El Secreto de Sus Ojos (Argentina) The Milk of Sorrow (Peru) Un Prophète (France) The White Ribbon (Germany) Thoughts: I was rooting for Un Prophete, which hands down should have won this, especially over The White Ribbon. I'd call this one huge upset because NO ONE was expecting this film to win at all!

ART DIRECTION: The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus Nine Bruno Delbonnel - Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince Barry Ackroyd - The Hurt Locker Robert Richardson - Inglourious Basterds Christian Berger - The White Ribbon DOCUMENTARY FEATURE: The Most Dangerous Man in America Which Way Home China's Unnatural Disaster: The Tears of Sichuan Province The Last Campaign of Governor Booth Gardner The Last Truck: Closing of a GM Plant Music by Prudence The Lady and the Reaper (La Dama y la Muerte) Logorama A Matter of Loaf and Death LIVE-ACTION SHORT: The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus Nine Star Trek The Young Victoria Thoughts: Yes! I'm so happy that Star Trek got at least one Oscar! Congrats Trekkies - you finally got one! FILM EDITING: Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen SOUND EDITING: Star Trek Pixar's Up Thoughts: Why didn't Avatar win these technical awards? Definitely a big upset, but as I said above, this is The Hurt Locker's night and it's going to be taking home a lot of awards - apparently these two as well. ORIGINAL SCORE: Alexandre Desplat - Fantastic Mr.

Fox Marco Beltrami & Buck Sanders - The Hurt Locker Hans Zimmer - Sherlock Holmes Michael Giacchino - Pixar's Up Thoughts: Exactly what I wanted. I'm so extremely happy that Giacchino finally won an Oscar - congrats! ORIGINAL SONG: "Almost There" from The Princess and the Frog "Down in New Orleans" from The Princess and the Frog "Loin de Paname" from Paris 36 "Take It All" from Nine "The Weary Kind" from Crazy Heart Chime in below as we update this list live and let us know if you're happy with these winners (so far) and what your thoughts were on the brand new ceremony this year and hosts Alec Baldwin and Steve Martin. And of course, a big congratulations to all of this year's winners & nominees! Your thoughts so far? Find more posts in Awards , Discuss , Movie News Discover more on ZergNet: is there a stream of this online Anywhere anyone please :(! that or decent text commentary!? People's Champ #1 - Live streams here: godius333 Yeahhhhhhhhhhhhhhh Christoph Waltz !!!!!!!

I knew it Ian Kuah T Bone, the winner for Original Song, was HUGE lol midnightlight Nice John Hughes tribute everyman They really need to learn when Pixar is not the most deserving, Up had NOTHING on Mr. Fox, Seriously Oscar people, you might as well give an oscar to Cars 2 at this point, GAH so stupid. Also I've already loaded my gun in preparation for killing myself if Avatar wins ANY awards. because it deserves none. Thats right NONE, not even special effects, DISTRICT 9 ALL THE FUCKING WAY. Most seamless use of CGI in a live action film EVER, hands down. I mean Avatar was all special effects, which weren't nearly as innovative or interesting as all the stuff going on in D9. no way. People's Champ Ben Stiller is funny as hell! Daniel felts What was the deal with that crazy chick interrupting dude from Prudence? What a nutcase! People's Champ That dress that chick from Avatar had on was hideous. Hughes tribute was cool, damn Judd Nelson looked pretty rough. Waltz winning was awesome. Also T-bone winning was cool. I really really hope Hurt Locker doesnt win everything it's up for.

(guess I dont have to worry about Renner winning) Go Jeff Bridges!!! The Sheriff of Nottingham Yay Precious! Liked District 9 too but yay Precious! The Sheriff of Nottingham Monique y'all! Duane Mo'nique just pretty much guaranteed she'll never be nominated again.... I think that's what Sam Jack was thinkin'..... People's Champ Maggie Gyllenhaal was pretty good in Crazy Heart, but Mo'Nique was great in Precious. Surprised Precious won in the A.Screenplay category, figured it would've been Up in the Air. But I'm cool with that. What! Avatar winning Art Direction? Who would've thought. Cody w Erg, precious did not deserve screenplay over D9, Monique deserves it but screen play come on!....I am very glad to see Waltz get the credit he deserves though. I always feel like the oscar deciding people go with what seems most politically correct and mainstream over actual talent and effort....and as much as I thought Avatar was incredibly overrated and the story sucked I feel like Cameron should get it just because of the pure time and dedication, I mean 10 years is a big chunk of a persons life and he deserves to be honored for it.

The Sheriff of Nottingham @20 it doesn't matter how long it took to make it. It matters if it was good. Which it wasn't. Congrats on the Young Victoria. But Avatar didn't deserve that award. Compared to all the othe nominees. Daniel Felts Beautiful James Taylor, just beautiful. Ian Kuah @22 Agreed about the tribute, but Drag Me to Hell was awesome. Daniel Felts @25 Thanks, but God no. How dare you compare Drag me to Hell to those great horror movies? No right man, no right! I wish 28 Days Later was in there Ian Kuah @26 You said "good horror movie." in no way was i trying to compare it to those from the tribute. I didn't even say it should've been in there, because it shouldn't have. I was just saying that, in my opinion, it was an awesome film. Daniel Felts @28 Ya I know. I get it. I just really didn't like the movie. I apologize. trat Did I miss something or were patrick swayze and farrah fawcett missing from the "those who died" tribute? Daniel Felts Or Chris Farley for that matter.

FancyMonocle Did anyone else notice that there was a New Moon clip in the Horror montage? Daniel Felts @32 Oh yeah. Slipped my mind. Unbelievable. Daniel Felts Oh and Yay Jeff Bridges!! Daniel Felts Oh and no Heath Ledger in the montage either? They missed a lot of people. Bernie Mac, Paul Newman, Patrick Swayze. Did I miss any? Mega Jet Jaguar I am happy for Jeff Bridges' win. Way to go, Jeff! Daniel Felts Katheryn Bigelow deserves it. 80% of it. 20% to Tarantino. But good for her. geetard @35: Uh, Heath got a tribute last year. But yeah, Patrick Swayze and Farrah Fawcett were forgotten, but MJ got one. WTF Hollywood? Daniel Felts Katheryn Bigelow deserves it. 80% of it. 20% to Tarantino. But good for her. Yay Hurt Locker!! Daniel Bullock did not deserve that Oscar, wtf. Bryanmakeup @35 & 38, you weren't paying attention. Swayze was the first one in the montage.

Bernie Mac and Paul Newman were last year also. Must have not payed attention last year either. People's Champ Hurt Locker is like Slumdog last year, didnt suck, But I really didnt care for it at all. Doesnt deserve all the acclaim. In a way I'm happy, Avatar didnt win much. Cameron doesnt have another Oscar to stroke his ego. I thought Carey Mulligan should've won! Martin and Baldwin did a okay job. Me @ 35 Ledger, Mac and Newman all died 2008. Ledger was mentioned at the 80th Academy Awards (not last year @ 38). Mac and Newman at the 81th Academy Awards, last year. Swayze was the first one in the montage of this year. deltavoyage "Exciting and quite interesting" my ass. This was probably the most boring Academy Awards I've ever seen. I feel like that entire time was a complete waste. Bland, boring, and uninteresting only begin to describe the night.

ben chacko that was a beautiful speech by sandra bullock =] and in my opinion Avatar should have won best picture...it was the best movie this year and not only that but it was an experience. The audience was completely immersed into the movie. Idk, i believe that Hurt Locker was a good movie but still i think Avatar should have won. d Bigelow and The Hurt Locker!!! LOVE IT!!! Xerxex I agree with the winners, even Avatars, I happy The Hurt Locker took Best Screenplay, Best Film, and Bigelow winning best director. Jeff Bridges long time waiting and well deserved! My one complaint is the best supporting actor category, I'm glad Waltz one he deserved it, but why wasn't Anthony Mackie in the nominees? He gave a hell of a performance in The Hurt Locker. Steve Martin and Alec Baldwin were funny, Jackman set the bar high, the two fell short...just barley. Did anyone else see the 3-D TV Promo? IT WAS AWFULLY STUPID! Who wants to year 3-D glasses while watching TV? I agree with TomV 28 Days Later not in the horror montage? WTF. Oh and Ben Stiller was hilarious!

Joey imo Cameron should have won Best Director. The way he made this movie was unlike any other. Think about making it. Basically a bunch of actors in these goofy outfits in giant green rooms for the entire movie! The fact that he made an amazing movie with believable performances from that is outstanding. Avatar was a wonderful movie and it really was Cameron's movie and it was upsetting not seeing him get the credit (even though it won several other awards) That being said, making the most money any film has ever made is a great consolation prize and I think it will forever be remembered for what it did and what HE did....cant say the same about Hurt Locker, though it was great as well Also this was one of the WORST Academy Awards I have seen. The last four awards were great (though they usually are) and compared to last year's fantastic production, this was a yawner. I don't know what the producers were thinking. That bit with the strange hip-hop/break dancing to the musical scores was awkward and weird. They didnt even perform any best song nominees? Where were musical performances? Where was the show?

Lame Martin and Baldwin were funny whenever they were on, but they were never there...I'd much rather a show like last year that was really a SHOW, a glamorous, musical, exciting one at that CLZ I liked The Hurt Locker, but how in the hell did it beat out Transformers 2, Star Trek, Avatar and the Basterds for Sound? Damn liberal Hollywood always screwin' over Prime. Richard don't really care just waiting for the NEW IRON MAN 2 @ TRAILER FUCK YEAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH Watching those bullets dropping to the fucking ground (WAR MACHINE BABYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY) DiR3cT I think the winners were mostly good decisions, I agreed with almost all the major awards. This year had more bullshit nominations than any year in recent memory. jebstuart im just happy that avatar didnt win best picture or director Marshmalou "Thoughts: I was rooting for Un Prophete, which hands down should have won this, especially over The White Ribbon.

I'd call this one huge upset because NO ONE was expecting this to win at all." F*** you Alex, this is bulsh*t, im from Argentina and the movie is excelent. Watch it and then talk, dumbass Q LA SIGAN CHUPANDO!!!!!!!!!! yo Precious for adapted screenplay... made me cringe filmfan111 ditto #52 germs I feel good about the way this went down. Just glad I didn't have to hear James Cameron ramble on about how great he is. Cheers to the winners! Jimd Good decisions. Avatar did not deserve best picture. I'm happy for Kathryn Bigelow. yo Also, how many people do you think Bullock had to blow to win? arnique Carey Mulligan was robbed. coswell The show wasn't the best I've seen to be honest. Steve and Alec were pretty funny, but i thought we didn't get to see them that much... The stupid dance part was idiotic. I cant believe they'd rather show that then the best songs! They totally seemed to ran out of time at the end, which was just sad for a big show like the Oscars!

For me at least the biggest awards are the last two (directing and best picture), seeing them slowing down pace in the best actor/actress category was kinda odd, cos i was watching the clock at the same time.. Around 20 mins for those two categories and then about 5-10 minutes for the directing and best picture was just sad. I love the way how their "co-workers" introduce the nominees in the best actors/actresses category, but i don't get why they didn't do that with the directors like last year. Was great seeing the old legends introducing last years nominees. And the way the best picture was announced... "And here is Sean Penn to announce the best picture of the year! - - - And the winner is..." (OK i get that the movies were shown throughout the gala.) Damn you sandy bulldog!! Would have loved to see Gabby or Carey take the trophy. Hurt Locker deserved it.. Kinda. Not my favorite movie from the top 10 (or the top 5), but didn't want Avatar to take it so im glad. I was kinda rooting for Colin Firth, even if Jeff Bridges did do an amazing job playing Bad. Now off to uni..

Gonna be a great and probably very fulfilling day, 100% sure (if i don't fall asleep in the middle of it ha ha). Good night America, good morning Europe! Clarice I don't know but I think Avatar was massively robbed. I watched The Hurt Locker and Avatar both in theaters, and the reaction from the crowd was a big difference. I like everyone else was blown away while watching Avatar. The Hurt Locker not so much. Also how did Avatar's Original Score lose to "Up"? Like seriously? Another bummer was that Zoe Saldana didn't even get nominated for her performance. People fail to realize that the acting was 100% they're own. She was the best female performance of the year, without any doubt. The scene when the tree burned down. Like seriously. Last and not least, I can imaging Cameron directing The Hurt Locker - because he's obviously capable - Kathryn directing Avatar? I don't think so. coswell AND WHY DIDNT UN PROPHETE WIN. I hate their take on "foreign" movies.. Last year and this year theyve chosen a movie which i have never heard of and is impossible to see in Finland at least.

LINKFX 49 CLZ Did you see Hurt Locker in theaters?!?!?!? I'm just going to assume you didn't or you wouldn't have posted that,no one did, not really your fault, but had you seen it in theaters you would have been completely blown away by it's sound. I have never felt so immersed in a battle and explosions and felt so tense because of sound effects ever, I was numb from the crazy noise, similar to the theatrical experience of Black Hawk Down(which I think was nominated or won at it's time as well). The Hurt Locker had hands down the best sound of the year, I saw all the films nominated, it was definitely the best...although all of those were really good, too. SAJohnson Avatar ripped a bunch of Jurassic Park Dinosaur sounds for its creatures... that's why they didn't get Sound Mixing. Dan What was the point of the Horror tribute? Because not enough young people watched the Oscars last years so that put that in to make them stay glued instead of texting? How did Avatar win best cinematography, there was hardly any real cameras used, it was mostly 0 and 1's/pixels.

Ben Stiller is fucking somebody to be part of the show every year, or mommy and daddy are in charge of everything, and sonny gets to do his lame shtick every year. What's with the music, when Charlize Theron came out on stage the E.T. theme played, they probably thought she was Drew Barrymore. There was a moment where they played the Avatar music on the exit of another movie winning. The John Hughes tribute is ridiculous when so many other people died this year, where were their special tributes as well, I guess if your friends run things when you die, they give you a special tribute. I wonder if Avatar lost votes because of the Hurt Locker producer was swaying votes to their little indie film, which cost him seat at the Oscars. Joel I CANT BELIEVE Avatar won cinematography...really? Bastards should have won that all the way. Cody w Ditto #52 and #55 thats all I can say besides the fact that I didnt see Swayze in the tribute yet I saw a Dancing screaming pedophile get one.... I am so fucking sick of hollywood. If he was in there someone correct me cause I didnt see him.

Colt #65, stop wondering and stop asking questions. it makes you look ignorant Dan Roel Faulhaber AVATAR has been making movie history since the day it was released (and even before that) The fact that the Academy Awards haven't acknowledged that is a BIG SHAME!!! All major directors are now stepping into 3D/CGI territory James Cameron has made possible. And the Oscars just missed the opportunity to award that leap in the industry on the moment it is/was happening. Xerxex #70 effects wise it is making head-way, a lush beautiful world? Yes, memorable special effects? yes, memorable characters? not really. Original story? no. Did I enjoy it? Pretty Much, but I've seen better films. 3-D will break down soon enough, 3-D TV's are a joke, no one wants to wear glasses just to watch TV, people with bad eye sight are fucked. Besides I think most of us get annoyed with CGI orgies in film, Transformers 2 anyone? 3-D is not the way to go, it may sound cool and exciting but its a cheap trick that leave's some like myself unimpressed.

I think 3-D has a place in film, but it does not need to replace conventional 2-D films, 3-D conversion can exist, but things should stay the same. P.S. the 3-D glasses suck, uncomfortable and a downright pain to wear for two hours. steve I don't think people are giving Inglorious Bastards enough props. That movie was Perfect from start to finish. The master work of one of the best directors ever. The whole argument was between Avatar or Hurt Locker....i didn't want either of em to win. Avatar will be historically speaking one of the most pivotal movies ever made. That being said the story was a bit of a let down i loved the acting and the script but the story was lacking for me. I don't think it needed to be some original shocking storyline its just not that kinda movie but i still don't think it should have won best picture. The Hurt Locker is the most overrated piece of trash movie i have ever seen. It won for one single reason the strange anti-Avatar vote. what was so great about the hurt locker?

The realism ok sure it was a nice break from RA RA go get em kill em up pro war action movies but really District 9 was just as gritty and felt more real than The Hurt locker and it was about aliens being in South Africa. The acting was ok but not amazing the direction was again ok but not excellent the story was again ok but BEST movie of the year come on.The hurt locker is like so many movies that win best picture. There good but easily forgotten. 5 or 10 years down the road you know what three movies people will remember Avatar, District 9 and Inglorious Bastards. David Banner This is history. On the 100th anniversary of International Women's Day, a woman named Kathryn Bigelow won the Oscar for Best Director, first woman to do so in the Oscars 82year run. Well done Kathryn Bigelow, well done steve I should also add if you ever get mad about anything the academy does remember there the same organization that didn't think Citizen Kane was worthy of being the best picture of the year.

whatever Every year the Oscars try to compensate for some previous mistake, but in the process, they just make another (e.g., Penn over Rourke to make up for that turd Crash over Brokeback). And this year is no different. Voters look back on Titanic and see it was an overhyped cornfest. So what happens: the crowning achievement of Cameron's career gets slighted for an above average, but ultimately forgettable, war drama. Though not surprised, I'm really disappointed. I know now and then the Academy all of a sudden decides to pretend it cares about artistry, rather than Hollywood glitz, but, seriously, this was probably the one fucking year that was a really bad idea, because the big Hollywood glitz (Avatar) was a watershed, while all the "artistry" was totally underwhelming. There really were no deserving conventional dramas this year to rival Avatar. This wasn't like two years ago when you had No Country, There Will be Blood, Juno, even Atonement. Acting as though The Hurt Locker is a really amazing picture feels incredibly forced; it was totally propped up, just because the Academy just didn't want to award Avatar.

The one year when they really could justify awarding Best Picture to a big budget giant, they totally fuck up. I don't think Lost in Translation (or Sofia Coppola) should have lost to the final installment of Lord of Rings; I also don't think LA Confidential should have lost to Titanic; but there is no fucking way that Avatar (or Cameron) should've lost to anyone tonight, much less the fucking Hurt Locker. Why can't these assholes ever just get it right the first time around? Is it really that hard to see that, for its genre, Avatar is a masterpiece, while, for their respective genres, virtually all the other nominees are totally forgettable? Also, get some new producers; enough bad jokes, bad dance numbers, musical interludes, and for chrissakes, what the fuck is up with those weird tribute speeches to best actor nominees. Meryl Streep is not that fuckin important. I don't need to hear some moron gushing over her for two minutes. Yuck!

Stonehoof I know I play bad, but you can learn from me as a person who is not into a do, let's join the clan did not just want to make progress together DOTA do, are filled with love for the game of DOTA, right? I would like to, and we called him a good friend whatever #63-saw it in the theatre, in fact, probably way before you did (in vancouver last summer). not blown away by the sound. not at all. sammy68305 This old Academy Idiots are making me sick. The Hurt locker might be a good Movie but its far away from Avatar! Bigelow is a Women...Thats it! Thats the Reason for the Price.A shame that the Peoples choice wasnt heard again. In 10 Years People will talk about Avatar , but no one remembers "The Hurt Locker" These old Men in theAcademy Jury should go into Cinemas and looking at the Peoples Reaction . L #79 Are you serious? Avatar was good, but best picture? really? As mentioned in other posts, it is basically a plot ripped off from Ferngully, Dances with Wolves, etc, etc, etc, etc.

Keep the People's choice to the People's Choice Awards. Hurt Locker was intense, artisitic, and induring. I'm no pro, but damn... Christ totally agree with #66 Inglorious Basterds should have won best cinematography. And I think the art direction on The Imaginarium of Dr. Parnassus is far better than avatar's. Anti-Fox I actually think the Academy got it mostly right this year apart from Sandra Bullock. The dance routine was total garbage plus the fact half the dancers couldn't even dance. The ending awards are very rushed but thats what happens when you fill the show with crap. me I respect everyone's opinion, but I really don't understand what's this hate for The Hurt Locker. Forgettable? NO! The first scene, the desert scene, in fact all missions were amazing. I saw this movie in December 2009 and only once (plus many other movies since then) and I remember those sequences very well and I will probably won't forget them. The acting was great, the directing, everything. It deserves Best Picture, especially if we look at the other nominees. Avatar?

I think I don't have to say (that it's just special effects and nothing else) because almost everyone else said it. Inglourious Basterds: I had high expectations about this one but it was a let-down. I expected more from it. It wasn't a bad movie, don't get me wrong, but something didn't work for me. District 9 is my runner-up. Congratulations to all the winners. Peace! George I was very surprised to see Hurt Locker won, I didn't even like it but absolutely loved? AVATAR just as most people did. This is movie politics guys. Maybe because AVATAR had such a political statement behind it? Who judges the Oscars? hmm Clover Other than the intro and Stiller who was just awful....this was a great show. I am so glad the Academy sent Cameron a message......While the tech was awesome, you cannot let an actor slip into his accent 7 times, and your story needs to be something other than John Smith and a Native American Princess. I really thought D-9 had a chance in the screenplay as the UK showed us 2 weeks ago. Bullock and Bridges deserved the awards.

Glad to see Star Trek win something....the audio track of this film is amazing and I had hoped it would win for mixing at least. The Hurt Locker was such an intense film, maybe the post Bush era voters is trying to send a message as well. davey into savory hahahah fuck you avatar. the movie sucked. Skath 67 I don't know how you missed it but Patrick Swayze was the first one in the montage of those we have lost, I think Heath Ledger wasn't in it because he got his own tribute last year.

And also while a part of me always had the feeling Avatar would not win Best Picture, I think it was a good movie, its visual effects were so amazing, that even when the credits were playing and they were showing a rear shot of Pandora, I couldn't leave, I was so memorized, I found it quite dramatic, I actually cried when the land was destroyed, and I enjoyed Sam Worthington and Zoe Saldana's performances and was suprised that not even Zoe was nominated, I guess there was no room for her, its just the story wasn't that good, but all in all, a good movie, it won the Golden Globe for Best Director and Best Picture- Drama anyway, and 2 Oscars for Visual Effects and Art Design, so it got something.

And I think the only reason Kathryn Bigelow won the Oscar for Best Director was because it makes her the first female to do so, I thought James Cameron would've been the best director, he did such a terrific job, and the night was filled with first timers, I lost track of how many times I heard " This is the first Academy Award and nomination for ( Insert name) By the way, does anyone else think James Cameron is bitter now because he lost to his ex wife Martin I called El Secreto de Sus Ojos to win the foreign language award sammy68305 @85 u suck u idiot, go and watch ur stupid War Movie .......... Jason McGuire I don't think The Hurt Locker was the best picture. That should have gone to Inglorious Basterds IMO. There are two reasons the Hurt Locker shouldn't have won. One, it is a movie that is presented to us in a very documentary style and feels like it's going to stay gritty and realistic kind of Black Hawk Downish. I know its fiction but then it really branches off when you see the lead start doing all these heroic and risky maneuvers with little to no reprimanding.

SPOILER ALERT: Then when he goes after that boy, it transitions to pure fiction, especially when he attempts to get back on the base and such. I have no problems with a war movie being fiction, but don't present it to me as not and then transition to it in the third act. Second, the movie is all character driven. I love that idea. However, apart from the first defuse, when I didn't know the characters, the tension was lost in every other defuse. Don't get me wrong, the movie was tense. But if you understand plot at all, you knew that the lead would be in no true danger, except for maybe the end of the film. Because if he dies early, guess what you don't have a movie lol. For a character driven movie, I would have liked to see the supporting cast enter a lot more dangerous situations focused on them. That way you could fear for them and how their outcome of the situations would affect our lead character. At no point, until the end of the film did I fear for our lead. Great movie, but I think their were alternative motives for its win for both Best Director and Picture.

(First female director and the fact that this is a war movie, done well, that doesn't choose a side. Therefore the politics of right wing/left wing didn't apply. People could enjoy a good war movie without the director or writer leaning one way or another.) Jason McGuire I mean, if its Fiction, at very least have him get injured pretty badly in the middle of the film and show him still going out to do his work. This would have emphasized more about the central them of the movie. (War is a drug) yumyumfish imaginarium of doctor parnasus should have won art direction. avatar should have won best picture. the hurt locker won a bit too much! who agrees? Ad I didn't mind Hurt Locker getting the best pic award, but Best Director should have gone to Cameroon. Creating and Directing a monster of a movie like Avatar, only a few can do. Not that I liked Avatar better than Hurt Locker or anything. Just for the effort he should have got it. That's all. kreg Hurt Locker was *Not* a good war movie, and it was actually worse for how close it got.

They spent so much effort to get the visual details right and then proceed to slowly divorce every character in it from any kind of reality. The very fact that every bit of battle rattle the soldiers wear and every foot of trash strewn street looks so real makes it jarring for anyone who's been there when they take it into the realm of pure hollywood fantasy, and did it in ways that weren't even necessary to get the point of the movie across. The Hurt Locker, Keeping It Real Fake. crumb bullcock - Carey Mulligan should have won. whatever #79-if plot originality is the overriding measure of a film's quality (which would be funny, considering that it's a fucking visual medium), I guess All About Steve should've beaten The Hurt Locker, because failed attempts at realistic-day-in-the-life-of-a-soldier have been done countless times, whereas there's only one film about a stalker that writes crossword puzzles. SillySil I enjoyed Hurt Locker and Avatar very much, but Hurt Locker did not deserve all the those awards. Hale18 There is no way Hurt Locker should of won best picture. It was a good movie dont get me wrong but best picture.no way.

Every scene was just a guy diffusing a bomb with nothing else really happening in the movie. Not to mention the ending seemed hurried and badly edited. The guy was home for a total of 2 minutes of screen time before he wants to go back. They could of lengthened the ending and showed more of the emotions of why he wanted to go back. I would of really liked to seen District 9 or Prescious win but being realistic Avatar should of won. I dont care if the story was ripped off. 99% of movies are ripped off of some other form of medium. I guess Saving Private Ryan is just another war movie and Schindlers List is just another Nazi movie...give me a break. Hurt Locker is very forgettable As for director James Cameron should of won. Im sorry but if you created camera technology to shoot your film as a director and now ALL of hollywood wants to use then you should win hands down. Not to mention he had to see everything visually in his head while filming. Love Sandra but yeah she didnt deserve that. I really didnt think she deserved the nomination. whatever Ok #86 thank you cause yeah somehow I missed it...Sigh of relief there.

Barbosa The basterds got snubbed and up in the air as well and as for sandra bullock winning its a damn shame The hurt locker wasnt deserving of best picture ,although i am glad that kat got best director i guess it all comes down to politics in everyway thats pretty much why the hurt locker won for best picture otherwise it would have been down to pure sheer entertainment Inglorious basterds or up in the air Those are the true best pics. Buzz #97 hit the nail square on the head. While I won't waste my breathtrying to convnce people that Avatar should've won, I don't think that you can fault a movie for "not being original". After close to 100 years of film, plus the millennia of general storytelling on top of that, no one can be truly original anymore. You can always simplify a movie, and then find 2 or 3 movies to combine and say that nothing's new. Watch the "Simpson's Did It!" episode of South Park CLZ LINKFX- I actually did see it in theaters. Transformers 2 and Star Trek just had so much more to do than Hurt Locker.

I do agree that it was a good movie all around but I highly doubt it took half the time and preparation to create the sound that Trans.2 and Star Trek took. Lincoln ROTF should have gotten BEST SOUND macatae It is amazing that The Hurt Locker is a huge flop earning only 21,000,000 worldwide yet it wins the Best picture oscar It is an average film at best. But in my opinion 2009 was a poor year for film. Pleased to see Jeff Bridges finally get recognised as he deserves it. Colt Matt To all you avatar fanboys harping on about originality not mattering and everything has been done before, thats not why we reference the other films, because if avatar had done any of these things in a fresh interesting way or even just to a better standard it would have recieved better recognition. And whereas everyone else mentions that films like phocohantas and dances with wolves are better because of their attributes films with simmilar messages earn decent respect because of how they presennt their features, for example people can throw the last samurai simmilar insults but they dont because it has enough substance to be considered uniqlue and worthwhile experience.

Ask the people if they remember scenes from these films from an age ago they can describe you them, ask many people about avatar the general response is, oo it was very good special effects, and i liked the battle, and tbh ifi your big battle sequence is that short its not much to lean on. ps i know no punctuation but its late and i cba whatever #106-the ironic thing is dink, Avatar actually does use the structure of a classic story in a fresh way. that's why most of its fans think it's moronic to say it's bad simply because it superficially resembles some other films. it had a lot of nice, interesting, absorbing details. my guess is either you're a moron that assumes simply being a conventional drama or having a small budget is itself an aesthetic merit, and apparently assumes overwhelming paramount importance (in which case I'll admit it's probably pointless addressing you, because people like this lack the self-awareness to realize what drives their taste) or one those annoying dorks that use Avatar to feign some sort of elevated refinement. i understand the temptation to oppose mass taste. however, that's only because the masses often exhibit bad taste.

i think Nickelback sucks, not because the masses happen like them, but just because they happen to suck. and i indict normal people for loving them. however, hating Avatar is just such a pathetic instance of misplaced frustration with commercially successful movies. this is one rare instance where a giant film with mass appeal truly was spectacular. minor defects, like a few rather artless imitations of native culture or cringeworthy pieces of dialogue, hardly detracted from the film on whole (and it seems rather ridiculous to act otherwise, especially because virtually every film suffers from minor defects, and even the ones that don't generally aren't uniquely outstanding in the multiple ways that Avatar is). the majority of this film was a totally engrossing, and many scenes were simply beautiful. and i say that as someone that really has no interest is most big budget pieces, including even the "good" ones. i thought the Dark Knight was boring after 45 minutes, and i could care less about the Lord of the Rings series. needless to say, i'm uninterested in yearly drek like Transformers 2, as well.

in any case, if someone doesn't see that Avatar was better than The Hurt Locker, i just have to wonder: what the fuck is wrong with them. check back with the site ten years from now. then we'll see how well you really think the Hurt Locker stood the test of time. Dude Serious debate...I enjoyed all the films nominated...what's done is done...not too many people were happy to see anyone from Precious win...not too surprised either. twittwit What happened to Farrah Fawcett? Ricardo Montalban? Henry Gibson? josh i think to qualify for best movie you should have a storyline. hurtlocker didn't have one. LINKFX !!!#77. I saw it last summer on my birthday actually before it's initial run here at the wonderful Arclight theater in Hollywood...a theater with one of the best sound systems in the world. In fact, I see all my movies here. The sound was amazing.

I'm not saying the other movies sound wasn't great, but in a film with the budget of "Hurt Locker" the sound means everything to the experience, it was was solidified the entire film together...which I'm sure was incredibly difficult again considering the limited resources. Don't be so quick to judge. LINKFX CLZ I'm glad you saw it in theaters...see my comment above for why I thought it was amazing. Also note, I saw it in a non-chain theater with a really superb sound system, where I see all most films. Arclight is amazing, if you live in LA and really love cinema, you need to check it out, either that or the Director's Halls at the Bridge cinema de lux.

bubba b Matt rebuttle ok you mention that you believe nickelback sucks because you believe it sucks is that any different to me being entirely underwhelmed by a film that will be forgotten when the next big cg masterpiece totters along, note i dont once say its bad, infact i reccomend any person to w atch it once for technical brilliance and to see the world, but the way the story flowed would have worked better in a scenario where you can go over what you have just seen by looking and turning (i.e a videogame of crysis graphic specs) i felt cameron just dawdled around showing you his world and really lacked on the narrative. p.s its somewhere like 6-7 /10 for me so again not bad not best picture worthy (best picture imo is a toss up between district 9 and basterds ) Telugu Cinema Sandra Bullock over Gabourey Sidibe? Really? I love Sandy as much as the next person but she was the absolute last of all those women that I would have chosen to win. How awesome would it have been to see Gabourey walk away with a statue?

In my mind this is just as bad as Marissa Tomei winning for My Cousin Vinny. Shame on the Academy! George The Woodlands Appraiser I couldn't believe that the hurt locker beat out avatar for movie of the year. I can't help but wonder if the fix was in this year. Avatar set the record for biggest grossing movie of all time and was AWESOME. 20 years from now people will remember this movie as the one that changed 3-D forever. The hurt locker on the other hand, I don't think I would rent this one on DVD. In my opinion it wasn't even in the top 3 this year. I've heard that there are a lot of people in the biz who don't like James Cameron. I wonder if they didn't give the award to his ex-wife as a slap in the face.

2010 | Oscars.org | Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Best Picture - Lee Daniels, Sarah Siegel-Magness and Gary Magness, Producers * Actress in a Supporting Role - Mo'Nique in "Precious: Based on the Novel 'Push' by Sapphire" * Writing (Adapted Screenplay) - Screenplay by Geoffrey Fletcher The Princess and the Frog 3 Nominations Music (Original Song) - Almost There in "The Princess and the Frog" Music and Lyric by Randy Newman Music (Original Song) - Down In New Orleans in "The Princess and the Frog" Music and Lyric by Randy Newman Animated Feature Film - John Musker and Ron Clements A Prophet Oscars Spread Wealth to ‘Avatar,’ ‘Locker,’ ‘Precious’ - The New York Times The New York Times Awards Season |‘The Hurt Locker’ Wins Big at Oscars Search Continue reading the main story Photo “The Hurt Locker” won for best picture and Kathryn Bigelow won for best director.

Credit Monica Almeida/The New York Times LOS ANGELES — “The Hurt Locker,” a little-seen war film with big backing from the critics, pushed past “Avatar” and other crowd-pleasers to win the best picture Oscar at a Sunday night ceremony here, while its director, Kathryn Bigelow, became the first woman to win the directing award. “Avatar” and “The Hurt Locker” had come into the night as favorites, but the smaller film took the prize from the bigger in the end. “There’s no other way to describe it, it’s the moment of a lifetime,” said Ms. Bigelow in accepting her award.

It was presented by Barbra Streisand, who announced it with the words, “Well, the time has come.” Mark Boal, a producer of “The Hurt Locker,” said of his modest expectations when the movie was shot back in 2007, “Hopefully, we would find a distributor and somebody might even like the movie.” Continue reading the main story There was no mention of a last-minute embarrassment in which a fellow producer of the film, Nicolas Chartier, had been banned from the show for violating Oscar rules by urging academy members by e-mail messages to vote against a film assumed to be “Avatar,” which had the advantage of a vast budget and enormous popularity. Advertisement Continue reading the main story In a sense, the awards season had shaped up into a showdown between James Cameron, who directed “Avatar,” and Ms. Bigelow, who was previously married to Mr. Cameron.

Among other winners, Christoph Waltz took best supporting actor at the start of a sluggishly paced ceremony for his performance as a Jew-hunting Nazi officer in “Inglourious Basterds.” And also, as expected, Mo’Nique won for best supporting actress for her portrait of a terrifying mother in “Precious: Based on the Novel ‘Push’ by Sapphire.” With no excess of modesty, Mo’Nique thanked the academy’s members for showing that “it can be about the performance, not the politics.” The remark was a reference not just to her considerable talent, but to the fact that she had refused to spend time playing the usual Oscar campaign game. Backstage, she blamed the media for trying to stir up a controversy. Jeff Bridges, a multiple nominee and now first-time winner, took best actor for his gritty portrayal of a broken-down country singer in “Crazy Heart.” A darling of the Hollywood crowd, Mr. Bridges had been seen as the designated winner almost from the moment Fox Searchlight made a last-minute decision to drop the low-budget movie into the Oscar race. “Thank you, Mom and Dad, for turning me on to such a groovy profession,” said the gray-bearded Mr.

Bridges, who brought the crowd to its feet in a prolonged ovation as he whooped, hollered and showed obvious joy in the moment. “Crazy Heart,” one of the evening’s smaller contenders, also took an Oscar for its theme song, “The Weary Kind,” by Ryan Bingham and T Bone Burnett. Sandra Bullock, who had been pointed toward an Oscar since winning a bellwether Screen Actors Guild award, won best actress for her performance as a tough and loving contemporary Southern mother in “The Blind Side.” Like Mr. Bridges, she was clearly a favorite of those in the auditorium, though she had never been nominated before and had been best known for romantic comedies like “The Proposal” and the occasional action film, like “Speed.” “Did I really earn this, or did I just wear you all down?” Ms. Bullock asked her cheering peers. “Up in the Air” was shut out, although the movie, about a corporate operative who specializes in firing people, had propped up the long awards season with appearances at various prize ceremonies on both coasts and in England by George Clooney, its star, and Jason Reitman, the writer-director.

The show clocked in at a relatively long three hours and 32 minutes, but at times it felt longer than it actually was. That was mostly because the first half was loaded with clip samples and retrospectives, while the latter part moved along with the speed that one of its producers, Bill Mechanic, had promised in advance. Before the bigger awards were announced, there was a trip back to “The Dark Knight,” as Morgan Freeman explained how sound editors handled a movie from an earlier year, and a lengthy string of excerpts from horror movies, in an effort to reach fans who do not find movies like the “Twilight” series on the show. Advertisement Continue reading the main story The pace had already slowed with the screening of highlights — and the introduction of two recipients, Roger Corman and Lauren Bacall — from an honorary-awards ceremony that had been moved off-camera to a November date, precisely to keep the show from slowing. This came only a few minutes after a narrator took time to read chunks of script over clips from the best adapted screenplay nominees. But Geoffrey Fletcher, a first-time nominee who won for “Precious,” put some heart in the proceedings as he gasped and seemed to weep in accepting. “I thank everyone,” Mr.

Fletcher said simply. Going into the evening, Mr. Cameron’s 3-D blockbuster, “Avatar,” was expected to dominate the evening along with the smaller, intense film “The Hurt Locker.” But it was not until nearly halfway through that “Avatar” won its first award, for art direction. It was presented by Sigourney Weaver, one of the film’s stars, who sounded relieved as she opened the envelope and spoke the film’s title. Awards for cinematography and visual effects followed. But “The Hurt Locker” had already won for its original screenplay, sound editing and sound mixing, and later added one for film editing, ending any thought that Hollywood’s behind-the-scenes types might have rallied behind “Avatar.” For most of the night the ceremony put in sharp relief a split between the 5,777 voting members of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, who in many categories continued a recent tradition of honoring small, independent-style movies, and their own broadcast, which played heavily into the big movies. Ms.

Bullock, from a crowd-pleaser, “The Blind Side,” took the stage as a presenter and was the subject of congenial jokes about her career, which has been heavier on commerce than art, with movies like “The Proposal” and “Miss Congeniality.” “Avatar,” meanwhile, was a constant presence. Ms. Weaver, Zoë Saldana and Sam Worthington, the film’s stars, were all presenters. From an Oscar stage that was bathed in blue for most of the night, presenters and hosts aimed quips at Mr. Cameron, who had a Na’vi blue kerchief (a reference to characters in “Avatar”) in the pocket of his tuxedo and generally traded on the film’s vast popularity in a clear bid to hold viewers, even as the prizes were sprinkled among other films, many of which had made only a small mark at the box office. The best documentary feature award, presented by Matt Damon, went to “The Cove,” a film that exposed the slaughter of dolphins in a Japanese village.

The best foreign language feature, presented by Pedro Almodóvar and Quentin Tarantino, went to “The Secret in Their Eyes” (“El Secreto de Sus Ojos”) from Argentina. Advertisement Mr. Boal’s original screenplay for “The Hurt Locker” made an expected mark for that film. In accepting the prize Mr. Boal talked of his experience as a war correspondent, and dedicated the Oscar to troops in Iraq and Afghanistan. In more of a surprise, Geoffrey Fletcher won the award for best adapted screenplay for “Precious.” The Walt Disney Company’s “Up,” about a septuagenarian’s wild balloon ride, won for best animated feature. The prize for “Up” was very much according to the script: it was the fifth computer-animated blockbuster from Disney’s Pixar unit to win the animation Oscar since the category was created for the pictures released in 2001.

In keeping with the straight-ahead nature of the proceedings, clips from the 10 best-picture nominees were shown throughout the show, while another set of clips honored the movies of John Hughes, the comic filmmaker of movies like “Pretty in Pink” and “Ferris Bueller’s Day Off,” who died last year without ever having been nominated for an Oscar during his prolific career. The ceremony seemed to drag a bit as a result, and, less than an hour in, was already drawing complaints about pacing from a bevy of second-guessers who expressed their opinions online. As the show opened at the Kodak Theater, the Oscar co-hosts, Alec Baldwin and Steve Martin, dropped onto the stage from above, holding hands. The two traded quips in a monologue that tweaked a whole string of nominees. “Over here is the ‘Inglourious Basterds’ section,” Mr. Martin said. “And over here are the people who made the movie,” joined Mr. Baldwin, Martin-and-Lewis style. The two donned 3-D glasses to peer at Mr.

Cameron, director of “Avatar.” It was a comfortable, by-the-numbers beginning for a show that promised to pit Hollywood’s Davids against some movie Goliaths before it ended. Advertisement Continue reading the main story With the sun finally peeking through the clouds after an off-and-on drizzle on Sunday afternoon, celebrities began to swarm the red carpet outside the theater, where the Academy Awards would be presented. Many first-time nominees still seemed surprised that they had actually made it to the end of what had been a longer-than-usual awards season. Mr. Clooney, nominated for best actor for “Up in the Air,” said he was not sure whether the decision to expand this year’s field of best-picture nominees from 5 to 10 would benefit filmmaking, but he thought it would be good for the Oscar telecast. “You can get more people on it,” he said. “I think it’s sort of like making the basket bigger in the basketball court so more points get scored.” In the gown parade before the ceremony began, Suzy Amis , who is married to Mr. Cameron, made something more than a fashion statement by wearing the movie’s signature Na’vi blue, as did several actresses and other women on hand.

But Ms. Weaver apparently did not get the memo: she showed up in bright red. During the ceremony, Ben Stiller appeared in Na’vi blueface and tail to present the make-up award, which went to “Star Trek.” (“Avatar” was not nominated in the category.) He sputtered nonsense lines in what mimicked an alien language that had been created for “Avatar,” and said, “That means, ‘This seemed like a better idea in rehearsal.’ ” Adam Shankman, a producer of the telecast and a judge on the Fox reality show “So You Think You Can Dance,” choreographed an aggressive dance number to open the show that was marked by a Las Vegas sensibility. Participating in the ceremony were 36 “opening dancers” and 33 “score suite” dancers. Even before the show began, the year’s awards had made some bits of Oscar history. Lee Daniels, with “Precious,” became the first black director to have a best-picture nominee, while Ms. Bigelow (“The Hurt Locker”) was only the fourth woman — along with Jane Campion, Sofia Coppola and Lina Wertmüller — to have been nominated for best director.

The Oscar season was stretched by two weeks to make room for the Winter Olympics, but managed to culminate with renewed frivolity. The expanded best-picture field meant more cocktail parties, and there was little holding back the flow of Champagne, unlike the last two years when a threatened actors’ strike and then the global recession made the bacchanal take on a more somber tone (at least publicly). On Friday “Precious” dominated Film Independent’s Spirit Awards at a tent show in downtown Los Angeles, taking prizes for best picture and director, among others. On Saturday Harvey Weinstein presided over a party in West Hollywood for nominees from “Inglourious Basterds,” “Nine” and “A Single Man,” all distributed by his Weinstein Company. Outside the theater before the ceremony, the acres of red carpet came alive with a stronger turnout of stars and executives than in years past, when many had been staying home in silent protest of the Academy’s turn away from splashy, big-budget pictures in favor of the arty and small.

Correction: March 9, 2010 An article on Monday about the Academy Awards ceremony on Sunday referred imprecisely to the character in “Inglourious Basterds” played by Christoph Waltz, who won the award for best supporting actor. The Nazi officer he plays speaks four languages, not two. In some copies the article also misstated part of a comment by Ben Stiller, who wore makeup to appear like a Na’vi in “Avatar” when he presented the award for best makeup. He said that it seemed like a better idea “in rehearsal,” not “at the time.” Melena Ryzik contributed reporting from Los Angeles. A version of this article appears in print on March 8, 2010, on Page C1 of the New York edition with the headline: ‘The Hurt Locker’ Wins Big in Split Night at Oscars. Order Reprints | Today's Paper | Subscribe 'Hurt Locker' Beats 'Avatar': On the Oscar Winner, Loser - TIME Follow @TIME All night long, the jokes kept coming on the same subjects: Avatar this, George Clooney that.

Sandra Bullock , accepting her award for Best Actress, acknowledged "all the people who didn't" help her, including "George Clooney, who threw me in a pool. I still hold a grudge." Ben Stiller showed up painted like a Na'vi to introduce the makeup category (for which Avatar wasn't nominated), and the Argentine winner of Best Foreign Language Film thanked the Academy "for not considering Na'vi a foreign language." (See the top 10 memorable moments of the 2010 Academy Awards.) It's the classic comedy strategy of the have-nots making fun of the haves, and the hoary Oscar tradition of using famous movies and celebrities as the punch lines to jokes understandable to the mass of viewers  most of whom haven't seen, and might not have heard of, the smaller films and actors, who tend to get the awards. Oooh, Avatar, $2.5 billion at the box office ... Heh heh, George Clooney, world's coolest movie star ... Rim shot. (See pictures of Oscar fashion from the red carpet.) Except that on Sunday night, the haves had not.

Clooney did not win an Academy Award, and neither did the film he was nominated for, the early front runner (and utterly Oscar-worthy) Up in the Air, which even failed to cop its expected prize for Best Adapted Screenplay. Avatar won only three of the nine categories for which it was eligible  the door prizes of Cinematography, Art Direction and Special Effects  and its begetter, James Cameron, supped on the special gall of losing Best Picture and Best Director to The Hurt Locker and his ex-wife Kathryn Bigelow, respectively. The Hurt Locker was also up for nine Oscars. It won six, and the evening's bragging rights. No question, The Hurt Locker is a near perfect war film and an excellent choice for Best Picture. Bigelow's job wrangling this orphan project into shape, and her shot-by-shot mastery of the story, should be considered no less impressive than her swaggering hero's effectiveness in defusing bombs on Baghdad streets. The same goes for Mark Boal's winning screenplay, based on his reporting for a Playboy nonfiction piece about IED squads (which really should have put the script in the Best Adapted Screenplay category).

(See pictures of James Cameron's special effects.) But The Hurt Locker's Oscar haul had less to do with the movie's merits than with the Academy membership's make-up and mind-set. Remember, to win Best Picture you don't have to make the best picture; you have to make the picture that appeals to the voters, who are older, politically liberal and artistically conservative. Here's how those and other factors may have played in The Hurt Locker's favor  and doomed Avatar. 1. Age. For the Oscar voters, who are at the senior end of the demographic spectrum from the mass audience, which most movies are made for, the most convenient way to see the nominated films is on screeners at home, where The Hurt Locker plays just fine. A Lourdes miracle would be needed for the Academy geriatrics to throw away their walkers and actually go to a theater  the only place Avatar can be appreciated in all its 21st century splendor. Filmmakers rushing to the 3-D format had better learn to be satisfied with the boodle they earn at the box office and not expect to win Oscars for a project that doesn't look like an HBO movie.

Oscars 2010: the 10 worst injustices in Academy Award history - Telegraph Oscars Oscars 2010: the 10 worst injustices in Academy Award history The 2010 Oscars are almost upon us, so we take a look back at previous Academy Awards injustices. Should Citizen Kane have won Best Picture? How did Stanley Kubrick never win Best Director? Here are the 10 worst robberies. Image 1 of 11 Orson Welles in Citizen Kane, beaten to the 1941 Oscar for Best Picture by How Green Was My Valley The film poster for Raging Bull, showing Robert De Niro Photo: UNITED ARTISTS Image 1 of 11 Hey, it's President Bartlet all covered in mud. Martin Sheen goes for a dip in Apocalypse Now Image 1 of 11 Sylvester Stallone in Rocky - a better film than Taxi Driver, according to the Oscars Photo: AP Image 1 of 11 Malcolm McDowell in Stanley Kubrick's A Clockwork Orange, beaten by The French Connection on all four of its Oscar nominations Photo: WARNER BROS Image 1 of 11 Janet Leigh in Psycho's famous shower scene.

Neither Alfred Hitchcock nor his most famous film ever won an Oscar Photo: AP Peter Sellers in Stanley Kubrick's Dr Strangelove - not as good as My Fair Lady, apparently Image 1 of 11 Robert De Niro and Ray Liotta in Goodfellas, one of Martin Scorsese's hat-trick of missed Oscars Photo: AP Image 1 of 11 Tom Hanks in Forrest Gump; a slice of 1950s values that somehow survived all the way to 1994 Photo: REX FEATURES Image 1 of 11 Tom Hanks in Saving Private Ryan, beaten in 1998 to the Best Picture Oscar by Shakespeare in Love Photo: DREAMWORKS Image 1 of 11 Sam Worthington and Zoe Saldana in Avatar, or Dances with Wolves in Space 3D, to give it its working title Photo: REUTERS

Question: How many Oscars did the film ‘Avatar’ win at the 2010 Academy Awards?
Answer: Three